Turks & Caicos Islands : 2011 Valentine's Day Cup Races HUGE Success!!!

Feb. 16, 2011 - PRLog -- Middle Caicos, Turks & Caicos Islands                  
Valentines Day Cup Model sailboat Races
Saturday, February 12th, 2011


It is now eleven years since the first festival was held here on Middle Caicos to promote and encourage the traditional TCI handcarved model sailboats. This year, over 500 people arrived to Bambarra beach to celebrate the day  - and it was a truly grand day. Bright skies, calm seas, solid breeze, live music, home cookin’…..all the ingredients were on hand! THANKS to everyone who came along to support this local island festival!!

The Middle Caicos Sailing Association ( MCSA) is delighted to announce that  eleven new boats were sponsored this year, bringing the fleet total up to nearly 30 boats!!  
   Class “C” boats under 30 inches : Miller Simon O’Sullivan law firm  / MSOS Victory; Potcake Foundation / Ms Potcake, Tropical Paradise Realty / TPR,  Wired island / Turks & Caicos Reservations; and Randy Hall / True Colours.
   Class “B” boats of 30 to 45 inches : Dan Steele/Sea Wings 2011, Big Blue Unlimited / Little Blue.  
   Class “A” boats of over 48”:  Daniel’s Café / Daniels Cafe,  National Health Insurance Board / NHIB, Island Com / IslandCom,  Redbridge Ltd / Tanned Toocan  

Classes “A”, “B”’ and “C” races allow boats to compete against boats their own size, with hilarious results and some stiff competition. Trophies and cash prizes for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners stimulate the competition, and every boat captain sailing at the Valentine Day Cup gets a free red cap!

For 2011, a new corporate sponsor introduced the Ladies Cup and the Captains Raffle to encourage more folk to take to the water and sail. Islandcom has truly upped the ante with these new prizes, plus new signs and banners for the event, taking on a very engaged and active role in bringing this festival forward!!  

This year we had super logistical support as the TCI Ferry put on special schoolbuses to meet the ferries making transportation for the day simple and direct. PPC / Fortis contributed funds for full sponsorship of the cash prizes for all the Class A, B, and C races, plus funds to bring on live music featuring our homegrown duo Lovey Forbes & Lucky Forbes!!!  Blue Horizon Resort, Forbes, Forbes & Forbes Ltd., Big Blue Unlimited, Middle Caicos Co-op Services, David Bowen family. MC administrative Services, Liquors Plus and Radio 92.5 all deserve thanks for their sponsorship in making this special event happen each year. The local church (Church of God of Prophecy) has been cooking all the food for the day since 2004, keeping up with the growth in popularity of the festival and leaving no one hungry each year! All the funds they raise go toward the children and youth programs of the church in Middle Caicos

The Valentines Day Cup is a fine example of modern promotion, small business and community resources working together and bringing to life a traditional sport – and it’s a lot of fun too!  It is a cultural heritage that has now been firmly ensconced on the modern calendar thanks to the efforts of the Middle Caicos Co-op, the Middle Caicos Sailing Association and lots of devoted friends and family – THANK YOU ALL!  

For more information please email middlecaicos@tciway.tc  or visit www.middlecaicos.biz

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MIddle Caicos Co-op is located in the Turks & Caicos Islands, a not for profit operation to preserve and promote traditional culture and heritage. The MIDDLE CAICOS SAILBOAT ASSOCIATION has a fleet of traditional hand carved model sailboats, sponsored by companies and individuals and hosts the annual Valentine's Day Cup races. for more info please email middlecaicos@tciway.tc